There's serious chef talent behind two Capitol Hill spots.
A feast of wings in several flavors at Little Engine, from veteran chef Rob Sonderman. Photograph courtesy of Little Engine.at a nice restaurant: It’s a polite entrée to get, because it’s usually the cheapest.
That all changed in the early 2000s when chefs began obsessing over creating a roast chicken that a home cook never could—think heritage birds worthy of aThese days, chefs are taking a more casual approach to chicken. Moon Rabbit’s Kevin Tien slings Nashville hot-chicken sandwiches atout of their hit Falls Church restaurant, Ellie Bird. Here’s a look at two notable chef-driven newcomers, both on Capitol Hill. Carla Hall’s fried-chicken sandwich with ranch slaw—and housemade chips on the side.
Photograph by Jonathan Pushnik.. The DC-based former hotel chef, caterer, and Howard University grad didn’t win, but she became the most famous of the show’s alumni in large part due to her charming personality. She spent seven years as a cohost of an ABC talk show. Her first and only restaurant, the Nashville-style hot-chicken shop in Brooklyn she opened in 2016, lasted barely more than a year.
, a sunny, folksy fast-casual place in the former Good Stuff Eatery space, opened in March for a six-month test run. If it does well, it’ll stay put, though Hall recentlyit might close, which would be too bad.
Because even if you’re asking yourself whether DC really needs yetI appreciate that the strawberry lemonade tastes more like berries than simple syrup and that the massive chicken tenders come with a perfect honey mustard. A scoop of pimiento cheese could have been plucked from a Carolina kitchen . At night, there are elderflower juleps and boozy iced teas from Andra “AJ” Johnson, formerly of Serenata.
Hall’s fried-chicken sandwiches are big and unapologetically drippy but held together with sturdy brioche buns. They’re also $12, which seems like a steal at a time when $18 sandos are commonplace. Still, the most important part is the bird. It gets a dry brine that includes a tenderizing powdered vinegar, and the trick works: The thighs emerge from the fryer juicy, nicely crunchy, and not too salty.
The sandwiches I’d happily return for include the OG Bumble, layered with peppery slaw, pickles, and Havarti; a Buffalo-wing homage heavy on the blue cheese and celery-leaf slaw; and, yes, a honey-butter-gilded version. The one I’d skip: the lone vegetarian option, with vinegary fried mushrooms. Rob Sonderman might not have the same level of name-brand recognition that Hall does, but he is the culinary mind behind some seriously popular DC joints, including the urban barbecue pioneerSonderman grew up near his little rotisserie shop, which is decorated with ’90s relics like videotapes and CDs. And it feels like 2026’s answer to the late local chain Chicken Out—a Clinton-era staple for reliable takeout.
Scrambling to figure out a weeknight dinner that’ll feed the family and not horrify your cardiologist? Sonderman wants to be your guy. The $42 “Family Van” takeout package, centered around a whole chicken, will feed four. Some chickens here have been more memorable than others.
Sonderman coats his birds with smoked paprika and other spices for up to two days before giving them a spin in the rotisserie. One night’s chicken leaned dry and salty but was saved by a bright jalapeño-lime sauce, which is so good it deserves to be bottled. On another two visits, the bird was far better. It was helped by the savory-sweet “Hazel’s magic dust,” one of three finishing rubs you can opt for.
Wings, big and meaty, are fried and can be either dry-rubbed or sheened with, say, Buffalo sauce or a sticky garlic glaze. Grab some of the housemade ranch and more of that jalapeño-lime sauce. Most of the sides lean healthy, such as a piquantly spiced carrot slaw, a cucumber-tomato salad, or sautéed snap peas with salsa macha. Only one is truly memorable: big, golden-fried hushpuppies studded with sweet corn and scallions.
Sonderman’s secret? Another sprinkling of that magic dust.and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth. Logan Circle Hot Spot Katsumi Is Better Than It Needs to BeThe Salty Donut Arrives in Georgetown
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